Dagmar Empire

The Empire of United Dagmar and Northern Sutherland, commonly known as the Empire (E or TE) or United Dagmar, is a country located off the southernmost coast of the Havana mainland. The Empire includes the island of United Dagmar, the northeastern tip of the Island of Sutherland, the Island of Crimea (a different Crimea from the one located in Ukraine), and many smaller islands including Medusa and Amari. Northern Sutherland shares two borders with two separate entities (the Empire itself and Sutherland respectively). Otherwise, the Empire is surrounded by the Separatist Ocean, with the Avalonian sea to the east, the Kraken Sea to the south and the Rudolf sea to the southeast, giving it the 1st-longest coastline in the world. The Victoria Sea separates United Dagmar and Sutherland, serving as the only true "physical" border between the two constantly warring nations. The total area of the Empire is 6,601, 670 square miles (17,098,246 km).

The Empire is an absolute monarchy where the monarch (referred to as the head of state) and members of the Imperial Family rule supreme. The monarch is Empress Victoria, who has reigned since 1962. The Empire`s capital is Cecilia-Yorkshire, a global city and military centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. The Empire consists of seven countries in total: United Dagmar, Medusa, Amari, Crimea, Danae, Victory, and Lilith. Their capitals are Cecilia-Yorkshire, Rudolf, Wilhelmina, Victoria, Petunia, Cecilia, and Riverstone respectively. Apart from United Dagmar, the countries operate basically free of restraint though they do have some restrictions. Their system of government is incredibly hard to navigate and they have a Council known as Soma, that rules over the other countries excluding Sutherland (who gained their independence) and the country of United Dagmar (which is underneath the direct control of the Monarch). Information on other major cities is classified, either due to a certain branch of the military operating from there, or due to the presence of another foreign military in the city itself.

The Island of Crimea was united with the Empire underneath the Acts of the Union of Dacha (the former name of Dagmar) and Freida in 700 AD. When Freida ceased to exist due to a Scandinavian Viking raid in late 793 AD, Crimea took over it`s land and united into the country (Crimea-Pacifica). After Crimea took over the land that had once belonged to Freida, the ruler of Dacha decided to change the name of her country to Dagmar. One-sixths of Sutherland seceded from the Empire in 1799, leaving the present-day formulation of the Empire of United Dagmar and Northern Sutherland. The Empire`s name was adopted in 1802 to reflect the change. There are 19 Dagmarian Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the former Kingdom of Freida which, at its height in 500 AD, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and was the largest empire when civilizations were being formed by humans. Though Dagmar was never conquered by the British Empire, they speak an old form of British-English, and many people in the Empire themselves speak many languages. The Empire has the world`s first-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 1st in the world. It was the world`s first united country, the first industrialised country, one of the most powerful magical-controlling entities, and one of the few "true" Empires left existing in the world. The Empire remains a superpower (having rapidly grown into one since their founding in 129 AD), making them similar to the United States in that regard; they are able to exert great political influence and are allied with many European nations themselves. It is a recognized nuclear weapons state, though it prefers to use magic (as nuclear weapons have a bad reaction to magic, having the tendency to explode when in the vicinity of any type of magic or even a magic user themselves). It is first in military expenditure in the world. They are one of over a thousand founding members of the original Mythical Nations since the first session in late 1509.

The Empire is a member of the Mythical Nations, the Council of Echo, the G29, the G19, the Valkyrie Twelve, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Riverstone and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is a founding member and Head of the Old Empires since it`s founding in late August of 1607.

Etymology and terminology
The 1599 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of Dagmar and Benedict were "United into One Entity by the Name of the Holy and Most Serene Kingdom of Graceling". The term "Graceling" was the former name of the Empire, as the lawmakers at the time couldn`t agree on a name that would honor heritage from all three of the countries; Avalon then one of their closest allies suggested the name "Graceling" as it meant Defender and would rightfully represent the values they were standing for at the time. Its official name from 1599 to 1707 was "The Holy and Most Serene Kingdom of Graceling"; in 1 May 1707 it was changed back to Dagmar, becoming The Empire of United Dagmar and Sutherland. The Acts of 1707 united all of Sutherland with the then-expanding Dagmarian Empire in 1708, forming the Empire of United Dagmar and Sutherland. Following the War of Independence waged by Sutherland nationalists, Sutherland became two countries split unequally; Northern Sutherland pro-Dagmarian Empire nationalists which had decisively won the war against the pro-independence nationalists urged for the monarch to allow a small portion (barely even half) of the country to break free from the Empire. In 1799, the request was finally granted (just two years after the end of the war), and the Kingdom of Sutherland was formed. The name was later changed to the Empire of United Dagmar and Northern Sutherland to suit the change.

Despite being comprised/made up of many soverign nations, and with the Empire being referred to as a single soverign nation respectively; the countries part of the Empire are still referred to as countries. The Ministers of the Empire refer to the Empire as "Empire" without stating the countries that are included within it; and due to Dagmar being the dominant Empire within the world, most people understand what country they are referring to.

The adjective "Dagmarian" is used to refer to domestic, civil, or even international matters relating to the Empire itself. In common laws, it refers to citizens of the Empire or any of it`s depencies, or overseas territories. People of the Empire rarely-if-ever use another term but Dagmarian to refer to themselves, having a strong national pride and undisputable honor towards being allowed to live in the Empire itself. The official designation for a citizen of the Empire is "Dagmarian citizen".

Prior to the Treaty of Union
Mars which had been settled previously by a stronger race of humans saw the Earth as a new way to colonize another planet, the Planetary Convention of 12 AD prevented colonization of any planet for selfish purposes including: natural resources, greed, and to own another human. The Martians slowly colonized the landmass which would later become the Kingdom of Dacha and then later on Dagmar, and many groups of Martins settled down on the landmass itself, intermixing with the natives already living there; the written scriptures of the time seem to indicate as such. The Lodovica conquest which began in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Dagmar, enraged the natives and the settler Martins who banded together to push the invaders out. The combined forces succeeded in doing that with the Martins slowly being integrated into the country`s natives and becoming some of the very first warriors of the time. Most of the region settled by the Martins and the unified natives were unified in the Kingdom of Dacha (the first iteration of Dagmar) in the early 10th century. Meanwhile, people from the Moon united with the natives there to unify the land into the Kingdom of Crimea in the late 12th century.

In 1066, Empress Augusta of Winia (one of the first Empresses of the Empire of Winia) and her Crimeanian allies attempted a invasion attempt on the southernmost tip of the island of Judith only to be thwarted by the mighty warrior Queen, Boudica the Victorious. Due to the unsuccessful invasion attempt, the Empress lost support and was overthrown in a nonviolent and pacifist coup d'état with the military general (Rudolf the Pacifist) seizing power alongside his subordinates and fellow military officers from the ineffective Empress Augusta. The Dagmarian Queen, Boudica the Victorious eventually married Rudolf (who had styled himself Emperor) uniting the Kingdom of Dagmar and the Empire of Winia into personal union underneath the same rulers. After her death in 1082, Queen Boudica died with her and Rudolf`s eldest child, Princess Fury succeeding to the throne as Queen of Dagmar; her father (Rudolf) later died and Fury subsequently became Empress of Winia leading to increasing amounts of pressure on Fury`s shoulders.

The Dagmarian monarchs, through both inheritance and conquest, were also heavily pressured to be good leaders; some of them failing to meet up to the pressure of such great demands, many of them failing short and disappointing their parents. Even the famed three rulers: Queen Boudica, Emperor Rudolf, and Princess Fury despised the burdens put on them by society; none of them shared a desire to rule but were forced into the role by people who couldn`t care less for anybody but themselves. Empress Victoria is the first example of a Empress that was ready to rule the Empire from the time that she was a little girl, as all of the other monarchs of the previous iterations of the Empire, were resentful of their duties and didn`t enjoy ruling over their subjects.

In 1542, the kingdoms of Dagmar, Aioli, Victoria, and Vermilion were unified in a personal union when Mary, Queen of Dagmar, inherited the crowns of Dagmar, Aioli, Victoria, and Vermilion and moved her court from Cecilia-Yorkshire to Shire; her reign lasted until 1599.

In 12 May, 1684, Princess Ava of the United Kingdom was born (she would go on to influence the Kingdom by marrying a Prince of Dagmar, Edward); in fact she became one of the most hidden secrets of the Dagmarian court out of fear that the Princess would be killed for her crimes. She was sworn in as "Saint Ava, the Martyr" as she died while defending her faith to her adoptive country`s enemies.

In the mid 17th-century, all four kingdoms were involved in a series of interconnected wars (including the Guren Civil War) which led to the temporary establishment of the Kingdom of Guren, coming underneath the personal protection of Empress Guren.

Kingdom of Graceling
On 29 May 1542, the second iteration of the Kingdom of Graceling was formed, the results of Acts of Union being ratified by both the Council of Soma and the monarch. The separate governments of the other nations passed similar acts, bringing them into a union with the other nations.

In the late 16th century, cabinet government developed underneath the monarch (Queen Mary), who wrote and passed several acts limiting the Dagmarian line of succession to her descendants, making her one of the most powerful Queens of the late 16th century. A series of uprisings sought to remove Queen Mary from the throne, as her claim to it, was challenged by her two first cousins (Isabella and Alexander), as they sought to remove the reigning House of Diana from the throne and replace it with the House of Petunia, believing their older first cousin to be an unfit ruler. In a battle that showcased her brutality first-hand, Mary, personally defeated her two younger first cousins and had them executed for treason against the Crown. After these events took place, the House of Petunia, was completely destroyed and all challenges towards taking Queen Mary`s throne ceased. At this point, the Kingdom of Graceling began transitioning into an Empire, as they had gained many territories and held significant political influence.

Dagmar didn`t endorse slavery and Queen Mary who was the longest-reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Graceling, outlawed it when it first started appearing in the various overseas territories/colonies of Europe`s Empires. The other Mythical Nations also looked down on the practice, with even Avalon disapproving of it; so it never really became an issue. People who refused to listen were executed as Queen Mary considered such an act, against the natural rights of all humans.

From the union with Sutherland to the end of the First World War
The term "Dagmar Empire" became official in 1707 when Queen Mary and King Alphonsus each signed an Act of Union for their respective nations, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the Empire of Dagmar and Sutherland. The two rulers later married, personally uniting the Empire and making them equals; when both Queen Mary and King Alphonsus died in 13 May 1745, the Empire spiraled into chaos as though the King or Queen had heirs, they refused to even consider ruling. This caused the Empire to erupt into civil war, which divided Dagmar; Sutherland was also similarly divided. In 1784, one year after the end of the civil war in the Empire, a granddaughter of Queen Mary, Princess Cassandra took on the duties of the Crown and ascended to the throne as Queen Cassandra.

Towards the end of the 17th century, Queen Cassandra`s eldest daughter (Princess Nicole) became engaged to the Prince of Sutherland (which had been seeking independence from the Empire for many years); though heartbroken she allowed the engagement. On 1 January 1799, she signed the Sutherland Free State Constitution Act, and welcomed the Prince of Sutherland, as well as his family to the Dagmar Empire to host a engagement party. The people eventually started referring to Queen Cassandra as "Empress Cassandra" and members of Cassandra`s family as Imperials (Grand Duchesses/Grand Dukes). The new nation which had been formed from the remaining counties of Sutherland, formed into the new nation known as Northern Sutherland and rejoined the Empire. The relatively isolated Empire adopted the policy of isolatisim and crushed any ships (excluding ones from either Northern Sutherland or Sutherland or their own allies) trying to come near their ports. Due to British dominance in Europe, boats from the Empire didn`t often land there only doing so on special occasions such as the birthday of the Empress and Emperor, or their wedding anniversary. In a unprecedented move that nobody in the Empire expected, from 1853 to 1856, Dagmar took part in the Crimean War, allied with the Ottoman Empire in a fight against the Russian Empire; the more harshly-trained Dagmarians triumphed. They participated in the naval battles of the Baltic Sea known as the Åland War in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, among others. Unlike previous Empires before them, Dagmar had no interest in colonizing and prepared to focus on expanding their own resources; after 1856, Dagmar, refused to agree to anymore alliances having seen all of the war that they needed to.

Dagmar fought alongside Sutherland, Northern Sutherland, Great Britain, France, Russia and (after 1917) the United States, against Germany and its allies in the First World War (1914–1918); they only fought alongside the Europeans due to the threat of Avalon threatening Europe. Dagmarian and Sutherland armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on the Western front. The high fatalities of trench warfare caused rising concerns over the personal safety of the Imperial Family, who were later moved to several places throughout the course of the First World War.

After the war, Dagmar received a League of Nations mandate over a small number of short-lived Italian colonies, and insisted on sharing them with it`s two allies (Sutherland and Northern Sutherland). The Dagmarian Empire, the Sutherland Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Northern Sutherland respectively held no imperialistic inclinations but were merely amused by the thought that they were thought as an Empire. All three countries had suffered massive losses and had finished the war with a small national debt due to the large amount of their treasuries.

Interwar years and the Second World War
By the mid 1920s Dagmar was experiencing another technological revolution as scientists were improving the existing technology of the Empire itself. The famed Magi Clan (capable of contorting and manipulating metal as well as earth to their will) were the main engineers behind this new technological revolution.